Jobs & the Economy

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s budget proposal. “Though short on details, Democrats and Republicans should agree President Trump’s budget proposal takes us backward not forward. It’s unacceptable to balance the budget on the backs of hard working families here in Colorado and across the country. I cannot support a budget that among other things proposes deep cuts to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), environm...
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Even as U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to say terrible things about marijuana and hint at a potential crackdown against states that have approved recreational or medical sales, assorted members of Congress have introduced legislation aimed at changing the way the federal government deals with the plant, including its designation as a Schedule I narcotic by the Drug Enforcement Administration. But there's disagreement among national leaders of the cannabis community about whether i...
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A Republican-led effort to rewrite the rules of the massive, post financial crisis measure Dodd-Frank is slated for a full House vote in June, despite Democrat’s effort — among them U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter — to derail the legislation in committee. At odds are Perlmutter’s contention that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is critical and put in place to bring discipline to the financial markets after the 2008 financial crisis and a new GOP-sponsored Financial CHOICE Ac...
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For years, lawmakers have introduced marijuana banking bills that have gone nowhere. Now, comes a new bill -- this one has the backing of Republican Sen. Cory Gardner and Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet. But it also includes sponsorship from Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Eliabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Rand Paul, of Kentucky. Called the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2017, its backers say it will solve a key logistical and public safety problem in the states that have legalized...
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Colorado federal lawmakers this week amplified efforts to protect state-enacted marijuana laws and cannabis businesses. Reps. Diana DeGette and Mike Coffman on Thursday introduced the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2017, which would add a provision to the Controlled Substances Act that would prevent federal preemption of state law. A day earlier, Colorado’s two senators threw their support behind banking legislation for the marijuana industry. DeGette, a Democrat, and Coffman, a Rep...
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No matter where one stands on the legality of marijuana, or whether marijuana businesses should operate in your community, the safety of those businesses and the people who operate them is important. Without access to banking services, due to the fact that federal law still criminalizes the drug, dispensaries deal almost entirely in cash. Automatic teller machines in the lobby of marijuana retail establishments allow banks to collect service fees for those who want to withdraw cash to buy the pr...
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Washington, D.C. –Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and 45 members of the New Democrat Coalition (New Dems) sent a letter to President Trump encouraging him to focus on tax reform and fixing our nation’s infrastructure. For too long, Congress has relied on irresponsible, stop-gap measures that hinder economic growth and make it more difficult to revitalize our outdated infrastructure and overly-complicated tax code. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) rated our the U.S.’s infrast...
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Serving marijuana ventures can prove to be risky business for banks, but new federal legislation sponsored by a Colorado Democrat who has his eye on the governorship seeks to remedy that. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Arvada, introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act) last week, which would protect financial institutions serving marijuana businesses from federal government reprisal. Perlmutter is co-sponsoring the legislation with U.S. Reps Denny Heck, a...
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After nearly 23 hours of debate, House lawmakers on Thursday advanced one of President Trump's top promises to dismantle the "horrendous" Dodd-Frank financial regulations that were put in place during the Obama administration. The House Financial Services Committee voted 34 to 26 along party lines, passing the Financial Choice Act, a Republican bill to undo the 2010 financial reform law. GOP lawmakers blame the Dodd-Frank regulations for choking U.S. economic growth and crimping lending by banks...
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The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill Thursday to repeal and roll back significant pieces of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The panel voted to send Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s (R-Texas) Financial CHOICE Act to the House floor, 34-26, along party lines. The bill would accomplish much of a long-term GOP goal: to revoke the expansive financial regulations passed under President Obama after the 2008 financial crisis and long protected by Democrats. All ...
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